The Union Budget 2026–27 placed clean energy and manufacturing at the center of India’s growth strategy, unveiling targeted outlays, customs duty rationalization, and policy reforms to accelerate renewables, electric vehicles (EVs), critical minerals, and semiconductor manufacturing.

In recent standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) auctions, several companies won projects at tariffs below the levelized cost of storage, signaling an increasingly aggressive bidding environment. At such low tariffs, there is a fear that projects may become unviable. Industry insiders say some bidders have secured projects by hedging against a future decline in BESS prices, betting that projects will become viable at lower tariffs over time.

The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission issued the draft Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (Demand Flexibility/Demand Side Management) Regulations, 2026, proposing a comprehensive regulatory framework to integrate demand-side resources into the state’s power system. The draft regulations are a structural response to the growing operational and cost challenges from Rajasthan’s solar capacity expansion.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) directed all state power utilities to strictly follow the ratings prescribed by it while floating tenders for transformers with a minimum voltage class of 66 kV. In a letter to 61 state power utilities and power departments, the CEA said several utilities were not adhering to the standard specifications and technical parameters for transformers and reactors.

REC Power Development and Consultancy invited bids to set up an interstate transmission system to evacuate 6 GW of solar power from the Barmer-II pooling substation in Rajasthan. The last date to submit bids is April 1, 2026. Bids will be opened on the same day. The scope of work includes the establishment of a 400/220 kV, 6×500 MVA substation at a suitable location near Barmer (Barmer-II Substation), along with two 125 MVAr bus reactors

Delhi-based hospital chain Max Healthcare signed a long-term power purchase agreement with renewable energy solutions provider Sunsure Energy to procure 4 MW of power from the latter’s 15 MW solar project in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh. The power will be delivered to Max Healthcare’s Super Specialty Hospital in Noida.

Stäubli, an industrial and mechatronics solutions provider, announced a $10 million expansion of its manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The expanded facility will house assembly lines for manufacturing connectors that link solar modules to inverters. The facility is dedicated to the manufacture of MC4-Evo1 and MC4-Evo2 connectors.

Gurgaon-based energy solutions provider Luminous Power Technologies inaugurated its first lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery assembly line at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. The automated assembly line has an annual capacity of 500 MWh and can manufacture Li-ion battery packs for residential, commercial & industrial storage, stationary battery energy storage systems, and e-rickshaw applications, with pack sizes ranging from 1.2 kWh to 16 kWh and system scalability up to 1 MWh.

Gurgaon-based independent power producer ACME Solar Holdings reported a revenue of ₹6.17 billion (~$67.14 million) in the third quarter (Q3) of the financial year (FY) 2026, increasing 53.9% year-over-year (YoY) from ₹4.01 billion (~$43.64 million).

NTPC Green Energy’s (NGEL) revenue rose 29.3% to ₹6.53 billion (~$71 million) in Q3 FY 2026, from ₹5.05 billion (~$54.9 million) a year ago. Profit after tax stood at ₹173 million (~$1.88 million), a 73.6% YoY drop from ₹656 million (~$7.14 million).

Uttar Pradesh-based renewable energy company Solarworld Energy Solutions reported a revenue of ₹5.78 billion (~$62.88 million) for Q3 FY 2026, up 184% YoY from ₹2.04 billion (~$22.19 million). The company attributed the growth to strong execution of utility-scale solar engineering, procurement, and construction projects.

China’s total installed energy storage capacity reached 213.3 GW, increasing 54% year-over-year, according to preliminary data from the China Energy Storage Alliance. The country has achieved its energy storage installation target two years ahead of time. China had set a target to install over 180 GW of energy storage capacity by 2027, up from 95 GW as of June 2025, with an investment of approximately RMB250 billion (~$35 billion).

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE launched the “PVgoesMV” project to demonstrate the world’s first medium-voltage solar projects using 3 kV string inverters, positioning the initiative as a response to rising raw material constraints and cost pressures facing the global solar industry.

Long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies are expected to see meaningful cost reductions by 2030, driven by technological improvements, increased manufacturing scale, and supply chain maturation, according to a new study released by the LDES Council in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute.